Broadcasting: The Sight & the Sound

In its coverage of the train of events
that began in Dallas, the television industry fulfilled what was widely
regarded as its finest and most responsible role. Not until the Tuesday
after the assassination did the three major TV networks return to
normal programing, having devoted some 200 uninterrupted hours to the
running story. Even by the most conservative estimate, the cost was
impressiveand irretrievable: $4,000,000 each for CBS and NBC, about
$2,500,000 for ABC.

Nor were the sight and sound of the slain President likely to vanish in
the months or the years to come. The assassination's aftermath
continued to...